Honoured Artist of Russia.
Professor at the St Petersburg and Moscow State Conservatoires.

Born in Leningrad. Graduated from the vocals department of the Leningrad State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire in 1983 (class of Konstantin Laptev, People‘s Artist of the USSR) and in 1988 from the directing faculty (class of Professor R. Tikhomirov, People‘s Artist of the RSFSR and Professor S. Lapirov).
Has been an opera director and soloist at the Mariinsky Theatre since 1988.
Soloist with the Metropolitan Opera (New York) in 2000–2001.

Has taken part in the theatre‘s festivals and tours to the USA, Japan, Germany, the UK, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Israel, Italy and Finland.
Has performed as a soloist at the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Rome Opera, La Scala, the Opera House in Tel Aviv and the Semperoper as well as at concert venues including Santa Cecilia, the Concertgebouw and the Brussels Philharmonic. Soloist with the Bolshoi Theatre since 2006.
Has participated in audio and video recordings of Boris Godunov, Otello, The Fiery Angel, Khovanshchina, War and Peace, La forza del destino, The Gambler and The Maid of Pskov. As an assistant director, has worked on productions of operas including Khovanshchina, The Sorochinsky Fair, Love for Three Oranges, The Gambler, The Maid of Pskov, Le nozze di Figaro, Salome, The Gambler and Betrothal in a Monastery.
Has worked on co-productions with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (Boris Godunov, Otello and The Fiery Angel) and the Semperoper (The Miserly Knight), as well as the Bregenz Music Festival (Austria) as Assistant Director of A. Rubinstein‘s opera The Demon. Directed the transfer of the production of Khovanshchina to La Scala (Milan). Staged productions of The Bells (2002) and Rigoletto (2006) at the Rostov Musical Theatre as well as Boris Godunov, Iolanta and Mazepa at Vyborg Castle and Iolanta and Mazepa at Ivangorod Fortress. Has directed the White Nights balls run over the years at Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo and the Konstantinovsky and Marble Palaces. Has worked with stage directors including Stephen Lawless, David Freeman, Graham Vick, Tim Coleman and Elijah Moshinsky (UK), Stefan Piontek (Germany), Julie Taymore (USA), Emil Pasynkov, Irina Molostova, Temur Chkheidze, Vladislav Pazi, Yuri Alexandrov. Trained in organisation of the creative process and the structure of theatre at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Recordings include: The Fiery Angel and War and Peace ("Philips Classics"), Boris Godunov, War and Peace, The Maid of Pskov and La forza del destino (СD, "Philips Classics").